425 DAYS LATER... WALK ACROSS U.S. TAKES GRANNY TO THE CAPITOL.Byline: Bill Hillburg Washington Bureau WASHINGTON - Granny D's walking crusade for campaign finance reform Campaign finance reform is the common term for the political effort in the United States to change the involvement of money in politics, primarily in political campaigns. that began with the Rose Parade 14 months ago will reach its climax Tuesday when she strides down Pennsylvania Avenue Pennsylvania Avenue is a street in Washington, D.C. joining the White House and the United States Capitol. Called "America's Main Street," it is the location of official parades and processions, as well as protest marches and civilian protests. to the Capitol. Several hundred supporters, including several as-yet unnamed members of Congress, are expected to join 90-year-old Doris Haddock on the final stage from Arlington National Ceremony to the Capitol for her high noon High Noon western film in which time is of the essence. [Am. Cinema: Griffith, 396–397] See : Wild West showdown marking the end of her 425-day, 3,200-mile quest. After a brief ceremony on the Capitol's east steps, Granny D Granny D (born Ethel Doris Haddock, January 24, 1910) is an American politician and liberal political activist from the state of New Hampshire. Noted for her colorful character, warm personality, and advanced age, Haddock famously walked across the continental United States plans to traverse the cavernous halls of House and Senate office buildings to deliver her campaign reform message in person to lawmakers, said John Anthony John "Jack" Anthony (born January 19, 1988) is a Collingwood Magpies footballer in the Australian Football League. A tough as nails defender from Collingwood territory in the northern suburbs of Melbourne, Anthony has been earmarked by the club to hold down the fullback , who is coordinating Granny D's Washington arrival. A widowed great-grandmother from Dublin, N.H., Granny D set out on her cross-country trek on Jan. 1, 1999, from Pasadena's Colorado Boulevard Colorado Boulevard (or Colorado Street) is a major east-west street in Southern California, United States. It runs from Griffith Park in Los Angeles east through Glendale, the Eagle Rock section of Los Angeles, Pasadena, and Arcadia, ending in Monrovia. . Denied a place in that day's Rose Parade by organizers, she brought up the rear of the pageant and then headed east. Along the way, Granny D endured dust storms in the Mojave Desert Mojave or Mohave Desert, c.15,000 sq mi (38,850 sq km), region of low, barren mountains and flat valleys, 2,000 to 5,000 ft (610–1,524 m) high, S Calif.; part of the Great Basin of the United States. , rain and snow on the Great Plains and steep inclines in the Blue Ridge Mountains Blue Ridge also Blue Ridge Mountains A range of the Appalachian Mountains extending from southern Pennsylvania to northern Georgia. It rises to 2,038.6 m (6,684 ft) at Mount Mitchell in the Black Mountains of western North Carolina. . She also talked the talk, at venues ranging from state capitals to biker bars, in her effort to purge the electoral process of so-called soft money donations. Soft money refers to a loophole in the federal law that limits individual donations to candidates to $1,000 per election. There is no limit on soft money, which is funneled by corporations, labor unions and nonprofit special interest groups to political parties. The parties use much of the money on mailers and TV advertising to tout their stands on major issues. Labor unions and special interest groups can use their own soft money on advertising for the candidates they have endorsed. According to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. Federal Election Commission records through Feb. 1, soft money donations had already topped $200 million for this year's elections. ``We didn't send our young men and women off to fight for a government of, by and for the corporations,'' Granny D told a Texas audience during her trek. She has argued that soft money has corrupted the legislative process, resulting in tax breaks, eased regulations and other perks for big donors. Granny D's backers include Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain of Arizona, whose effort to ban soft money has been a key element of his drive for the White House. Her supporters also include members of Common Cause, a national group espousing campaign reform, and thousands of individuals nationwide. During her long march, which covered an average of 10 miles a day, Granny D was assisted by hundreds of strangers who gave her food and shelter. The activist also rented out her New Hampshire New Hampshire, one of the New England states of the NE United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts (S), Vermont, with the Connecticut R. forming the boundary (W), the Canadian province of Quebec (NW), and Maine and a short strip of the Atlantic Ocean (E). home to help cover expenses. A small group of backers and relatives served as her entourage, following her along the highways and byways in a camper. Granny D said she was inspired to make the trip by her personal heroes: President Teddy Roosevelt, who broke up big business trusts in the early 1900s; Mildred Norman, a pacifist who traversed the country seven times from 1953-81 as ``Peace Pilgrim''; and the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Doris Haddock, 90, is shown in Pasadena before setting off on foot across the country. David Sprague/Staff Photographer |
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